Around the NHL

Tuesday

Nov 29, 2011 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2011 at 9:42 AM

Tuned out by his players, coach Bruce Boudreau was fired by the Washington Capitals yesterday after winning 200 games faster than any coach in modern NHL history but stumbling regularly in the playoffs despite a talent-laden lineup featuring two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin.

NOTABLE

Coaching changes Capitals fire Boudreau

Tuned out by his players, coach Bruce Boudreau was fired by the Washington Capitals yesterday after winning 200 games faster than any coach in modern NHL history but stumbling regularly in the playoffs despite a talent-laden lineup featuring two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin.

Boudreau was replaced by former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who was greeted by loud cheers from more than 100 fans when he skated onto the ice at practice. Hunter, never before a coach in the NHL, will make his debut behind the bench tonight at home against the St. Louis Blues.

"This was simply a case of the players no longer responding to Bruce," general manager George McPhee said. "When you see that, as much as you don't want to make a change, you have to make a change.

"Bruce came in here and emptied the tank. He gave it everything he could and did a really good job, but the tank was empty. When that happens, you get a new coach, where the tank is full, and see if it makes a difference."

Hired four years ago on Thanksgiving Day, Boudreau went 201-88-40 in the regular season but 17-20 in the playoffs, exiting in the first or second round each time. This season, he tried a new approach, emphasizing accountability and a willingness to bench his star players - team captain Ovechkin included - as punishment for sub-par performances.

The Capitals started 7-0 - a franchise record for consecutive wins to begin a season - but have since slumped badly. They have dropped six of their past eight games; Ovechkin has scored only once during the tailspin.

Hurricanes' Maurice axed

The last-place Carolina Hurricanes fired coach Paul Maurice for the second time in less than a decade and replaced him with former All-Star Kirk Muller.

Muller, 45, begins his first NHL head-coaching job with a slumping team that has made one playoff appearance since 2006 and has lost 10 of its past 13 games. He was in his first season coaching the Nashville Predators' American Hockey League affiliate in Milwaukee after five seasons on the Montreal Canadiens' staff. He played 19 seasons in the NHL.

Maurice, who helped shepherd the club's move from Hartford to North Carolina in 1997, returned to the Hurricanes in December 2008 when Peter Laviolette was fired. He guided the Hurricanes' run to the 2009 Eastern Conference final, the club's only postseason spot since it won the Cup in 2006.

Before that, they hadn't reached the playoffs since Maurice led them to the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.

LAST NIGHT'S GAMES

• Wild 3, Lightning 1: Niklas Backstrom rebounded from a rough game and an early exit with 32 saves, and Minnesota stopped a two-game losing streak.

Steven Stamkos scored again for the Tampa Bay, but Cal Clutterbuck's short-handed goal and Pierre-Marc Bouchard's go-ahead score in the second period gave the Wild all the offense it needed. Mikko Koivu added an empty-netter with 24 seconds left.

• Stars 3, Avalanche 1: Andrew Raycroft stopped 35 shots for his first win in nearly a year for Dallas.

Raycroft, who hadn't won since Jan. 9, made his first start since taking over for Kari Lehtonen, who is out with a knee injury.

Michael Ryder scored two goals for the Stars.

• Predators 2, Oilers 1: Nick Spaling broke the 1-1 tie with 7:39 left, and Anders Lindback needed to make only 17 saves in his second start this season for Nashville.